OAKWORTH stalwart Michael Scarborough joined an elite club after reaching 1,000 Craven League wickets – and then revealed he thought he would never reach the landmark due to a back injury.

Scarborough is believed to have become only the fourth bowler in the history of the league to reach the magical four-figure mark.

And the 44-year-old all-rounder is thought to be the first player to pass the landmark of 10,000 league runs and 1,000 wickets, all of which have come in the top division.

Yet Scarborough did not think he would reach the latter milestone after a debilitating injury reduced him to a bit-part bowler for three seasons.

"I had a serious back injury in 2009 and was advised not to play any cricket at all," he said.

"But I wasn't far short of 10,000 runs then, so I decided to carry on just as a batsman. I still needed about 100 wickets, so I never thought I would get there as a bowler.

"I bowled the odd over in 2009, and the same in 2010 and 2011, and it was only in 2012 that I started bowling on a needs-must basis."

When asked what his new target was for wickets, he laughed and said: "A few lads at the club have asked me that.

"I am on 1,001 now – so the answer is 1,002, as I am getting on a bit and there are so many good young lads coming through at Oakworth."

Scarborough, whose best haul for a season was 96 in 2001, made his debut for Oakworth as a 17-year-old in 1988 and has spent all his time at Cure Hill, apart from a season and a half in 1993-94 when he went to Bradford League club Keighley.

"I play cricket for enjoyment and I didn't particularly enjoy my time down there and had a personality clash with the captain," he said.

"It was a case of wrong club, wrong time, so I went back to Oakworth."

The other three players to have reached 1,000 wickets are John Tetley of Long Lee, Embsay’s Ian Robson and Mark Paxton of Thornton.